Peter Craig is the latest of the several civil servants to be dismissed by the new government. The former trade commissioner of Mauritius in Washington has been asked to leave his office by December. The government put an end to his long career with a fax sent last Saturday. Once again, the government did not find it necessary to officially state the reasons for his dismissal. “(The government) did not give me any reasons for my dismissal. There was no indication that they did not want me anymore,” Peter Craig commented.

Some officials within the government seem dissatisfied with the way Peter Craig dealt with the ‘third country fabric’ issue. They believe that, unlike Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique, Peter Craig had not really fought to obtain derogation for the ‘third country fabric’. But the former trade commissioner denies these accusations, “It’s all in the files. The files are there to prove that we have asked for derogation and I have taken part in a lot of negotiations on that issue. It would be a pity if an important file such as the Agoa became a partisan political affair. ”

Mainspring of diplomacy

His ‘bad’ relations with the new secretary of Foreign affairs, Anand Newoor, are said to be one of the reasons for his dismissal. But Peter Craig doesn’t want to engage in personal attacks and asserts he did not have any problems working with Anand Newoor when the latter was ambassador in Washington.

People who know him – more particularly members of the previous government – do not understand such a move by the government. The former minister of Foreign affairs, Jayen Cuttaree, points out the qualities of Peter Craig, who is said to be the “mainspring of economic diplomacy in the United States”. And this decision appears all the more incoherent as Peter Craig worked with Navin Ramgoolam between 1995 and 2000. But Peter Craig looks blasé and disappointed by the government’s lack of courtesy, “It seems that some people always forget what we have done for them. I suppose that my relations with the Labour have never been that cordial.”

One of the issues he probably knows best is the African Growth Opportunity Act (Agoa). He was the one who led the negotiations to a successful conclusion. Thanks to this agreement, Mauritius was allowed to increase its textile exports towards the US.

Maurice Vigier de Latour of the Mauritius-US Business Association said he was saddened by this decision. “I am sad for Mauritius. Peter Craig has done a wonderful job in promoting relations between Mauritius and the US. It will be hard to replace someone like Peter Craig as trade commissioner. He has contacts at the highest level of the congress as well as in the American administration and business circles.